Funded by the Mellon Foundation
Reclaiming Our Roots, Empowering Our Future
The GRACE Initiative was established to ensure the stories, traditions, and contributions of the Gullah people remain vibrant and accessible. Inspired by the legacy of our ancestors, GRACE supports education, collaboration, and resource-sharing to deepen understanding of Gullah history and contemporary life.
"We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Project Overview
The GRACE Initiative is dedicated to addressing Black land loss, particularly in heirs' property cases, within the Gullah community. We work to educate landowners about their rights, provide legal and financial resources to prevent forced sales, and empower families to preserve their generational land.
We achieve this through a three-pronged approach:
We are committed to helping families protect their land, preserve their cultural heritage, and build generational wealth. Our GRACE Grants support organizations, groups, and communities facing challenges related to heirs’ property, land retention, economic sustainability, and cultural erosion.
Regranting
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Workshops
We are committed to educating families about heirs’ property rights and ensuring that generational land remains in the hands of its rightful owners. Through a series of workshops, we provide participants with practical legal knowledge, access to critical resources, and guidance on how to protect their family’s land from predatory practices.
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The Convening of Heirs is a gathering dedicated to empowering families to protect, preserve, and sustain heirs’ property. Through expert panels, legal clinics, and strategy sessions, we equip communities with the tools to secure ownership, prevent cultural erosion, and build generational wealth. This is more than an event—it is a call to action to reclaim our heritage and protect what is rightfully ours.
Convenings
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The GRACE Initiative is about learning, sharing, and supporting the Gullah Geechee community to ensure our culture and land are protected for generations to come.
